Hot Commodity
by Kibou32
Summary: The compound wish of Kagome, Miroku and Kouga turns Inuyasha into a hot commodity all of the sudden making him irressistible to all that take a good look of him.
1. Chapter 1

Hot Commodity

By: Kibou32

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Summary: The fight against Naraku is over. They won and everyone is feeling good about themselves. By mistake of a compound wish made by Kouga, Kagome and Miroku, Inuyasha is turned into the ultimate being and now everyone wants him. But how can he in turn be free of such gift when those who want him don't seem to want HIM as himself but that of who he is now. What will Inuyasha do now when told that the only way for the gift to disappear is if he chooses someone else?.

A/N: Alternate take on what would happen if a miscontrued wish on the jewel makes Inuyasha the target of unwanted attention from both male and female alike. By the way, no squick: ie.: no Kaede + Inuyasha or Jaken + Inuyasha.

Warnings: You've been warned. There is to be a lot of angst. Lots of both Homosexual & Heterosexual connotations and talk of hard core yaoi scenes.

Part I: The Wish. _Kagome_

It was a long and hard fight, but when all was finally over and done with, she grabbed the jewel from Naraku's carcass and watched without any sort of remorse as it turned to dust and dissolved into the wind. She purified it just with wishing that it was finally the end of it all. And here is where things got complicated… Purifying the jewel didn't exactly mean that it was going to go away until a wish was made.

She looked over at Sango finally falling down on her knees to weep over the loss of her brother. She wanted – very much – to go over there and try to comfort her but knew her efforts would be worthless because there wasn't anything she could say or do to ease her friend's grief. The thought that Kohaku was no longer being used as a puppet was no small comfort and she stopped herself from ever saying it out loud because it could bring Sango to more tears or to anger. Grief often manifested itself between those two emotions and in worst cases sometimes it could morph into hate.

She turned her line of sight to Kouga who had also lost a great deal… not only was his clan dead, but he had also lost one of his two good friends: Hakkaku. Hakkaku had taken in one of Naraku's tentacles when the fight was going strong and had died inmediately after that of serious blood loss. She saw him looking up at her and her solemn stare apparently brought him out of his misery because he stood up. Was he going to come over to her and demand that she be his woman now? God, she hoped he didn't because if he did, she'd have to firmly tell him no and then he'd be feeling worst than now. She saw him walk over to her and wondered what was on his mind as he came over to touch her hand – the hand that had the jewel enclosed tightly to her fingers. She looked up at him wondering what he was doing when she felt another male hand come in contact with her arm. The arm that was connected to the hand that held the jewel and suddenly there was a great infusion of power and she felt herself being bathed over by a pure white light. Midoriko. She heard her voice like a whisper in her mind and puzzled over the meaning of her words:

"_Your love for Inuyasha, your care for the future, your intelligent wish for power. It will be done and after this there will be no more jewel to worry about. Goodbye."_

_Miroku_

He was happy. He was much more happy when he saw Naraku's carcass blown away into dust by the wind. He was ecstatic when he opened the hand that was held by beads and found a hand without a hole in it. He was sad when he saw Sango grieving for the loss of her brother. He was confused as to what was going to happen to Kouga and Kagome when he saw him reaching to touch her hand. He hadn't even noticed that he was standing by Kagome's side and was astounded when he heard a voice's whisper rang into his mind with the words: _"Your love for Inuyasha, your care for the future, your intelligent wish for power. It will be done and after this there will be no more jewel to worry about. Goodbye."_

And then there was an infusion of power, the loss of the jewel and both – Kouga and he – were blown away from the power that drew away from Kagome's body and he realized what it was. Kagome's missing soul had gone back into her, he had missed the incredulous look of both Shippou and little Rin when the dead priestess crumbled into ashes that strewn about the floor and into the sky. Kikyou was gone and not coming back. He would've thought that Kikyou would have wanted to be alive, but he was certain that the dead priestess was aware that she was dead and that the dead were better off dead. With that he turned to see Sango and though he expected Sango to yell at the sky for her brother, he saw she was only shaking off the tears. He looked over at Kouga and found him lying on the floor looking shocked. Was he shocked for how things turned out to be? The answer was no. It seemed that he was looking at something else… something that was veritably more shocking than the thought of Kagome getting to be more powerful than she was already. It was because Inuyasha had collapsed. It was because Sesshoumaru – Inuyasha's brother of all people – was kneeling by his side over-looking at him with worry and concern sketching his face harshly. He struggled to stand up and try to understand what was going on. He struggled to open up his mouth to try and speak, but found that he couldn't even breath correctly. Was he suddenly dead? With a swoosh of air that rushed into his lungs, he discovered that no. No, he wasn't dead. He patted himself and looked around them to find new people about them. Shippou and little Rin were there looking concerned over their guardians. Ayame – the wolf princess of the northern mountains looking at Kouga in horror. For a moment everything was quiet and then sound was incorporated to the scene with Sesshoumaru turning red eyes to them three…

"What the fuck did you do?!" – and this made him stutter and try to come with an answer, but all he could do was open and close his mouth without managing to form a coherent sentence, much less a coherent word. More over, he was very much in shock over the words that had been thrown to Kagome because as far as they knew, Sesshoumaru would never _ever_ use Inuyasha's lingo in any sort of shape or form! There had to have happened something really weird from the result of the wish… what was going on?!

**_Sango_.**

What the fuck did they do alright. She could see that the changes that had overtaken them all – all those who were in the clearing – were a direct result of the combined wish of three people: Kagome, Kouga and Miroku. She hadn't been privy to the comings and goings of them all since the battle had finished for all she could think of were the fact that Kohaku could never come back to her. Her father had once told her that if there was something that she should never ask for is for the dead to come back to life. If the dead were dead, then they had to stay dead. Even so, she had to grief. She wondered briefly – if only for a minute – if she could ask the jewel for her brother to come back to life. But then coming back to life when he had been dead for more than a day, more than two years actually because it had taken them four to five years in total to recollect the shards and finally kill Naraku; that she realized that even asking for that was a bit foolish of her. Kohaku was better off dead. If he were to suddenly come back to life, he would remember everything and that would've driven him insane with guilt. Not to mention that if he were to come alive all of the sudden, there was a good chance that whilst his body might function, his heart might not because he could've crossed over and a body without a soul was nothing more than a shell. Even Kikyou had been nothing more than a shell up to the point of her snatching half of Kagome's soul into her body. And even then, Kikyou had not been the same person that Inuyasha had known once before. Which brought her back to the current dilemma… Inuyasha had collapsed. Sesshoumaru – lord of the western lands – had rushed to see what was wrong with his idiot half-breed brother.

She settled her eyes on Kagome who had lost her composure and inmediately tried to touch Inuyasha but was batted away by Sesshoumaru who cuddled Inuyasha in his arms – here Sango made a pause as she realized that not only Kouga looked to be in shock, but Miroku could not form a word, and Sesshoumaru had completely recovered his left arm back – carefully and would not let him go for a second. What was going on? And would anyone care to explain to her why Sesshoumaru's toad was unaffected by all the comings and goings of everything that was occurring? She saw Sesshoumaru stand up with his brother lying in his arms softly and tenderly and what the fuck?!?! Did she suddenly stepped into the twilight zone or something? Was Kouga looking a little jealous because Inuyasha was being carried by Sesshoumaru – of all people – to safety?

She turned to look at Inuyasha again and found to her utter confoundment that whatever the hell they wished for managed to turn Inuyasha into a full-blooded demon. He looked so deceptively fragile that Sango had to wonder if this new change made him different. What did it make him now? Did the wish make him stronger? It certainly gave him an alluring scent that even she could smell. But other than that the extent of Inuyasha's new abilities would have to wait since the young man was nowhere near conscious and yet she found herself wishing a bit that she could touch him. She shook her head in disbelief. She was grieving. Period. There was no open door in her heart to allow anyone in, for her grief was deep and she did not want to have anyone anymore. To care meant to love and to love meant to hurt. And she knew she did not have the strength to do so anymore… at least not right at the minute. She stood up and said…

"Miroku. Please come over here so that you may help me with the last of my brother's ashes. I wish to help Kohaku's soul go in peace and I cannot do that on my own." – and was pleasantly surprised to see that this set him quickly in motion, though his eyes often trailed after the demon lord and his brother and was it any wonder that she felt no jealousy for this when before the look that Miroku bestowed upon Inuyasha was the same lecherous thoughts that came across his seemingly innocent face whenever he asked any maiden that crossed into his road to bear his children.

_**Kouga**_

Days passed as they had made their way back to the village they had all made it back to Kaede's village. Although why it was called as such was nobody's guess, but what did it matter anyway? He realized immediately that this was all their combined effort (Miroku's, Kagome's and his) fault. If he had not touched Kagome when she was at her maximum purifying strength (it was a surprise that he was alive at all), Inuyasha would not be 'comatose' as Kagome had explained. He was sure that the hanyou – well not a half-breed anymore – was still in unnatural sleep. He didn't understand why he was suddenly feeling such _need_ for him. Why the scent of his once rival-enemy, made him want to do _things_ he only thought of doing to Kagome once? It was bizarre and he didn't understand why he felt the _crave_ of being sexual to the beautiful Inuyasha. He hoped that this was just a passing want and that once everything returned to normal, he would be back into his own comfort zone and… could he ever want to mate a human priestess? Like Kagome? He decided that perhaps his want in mating Kagome was purely out of childish wish to control his future, whereas saying to Ayame that he would not mate her because she wasn't the one, was something of a petty wish to annoy her.

He would not mate either of them, he decided. The question now was, who was he going to take to the council now that he had acknowledged that both females who he had once said he wanted to take as a mate were unworthy of him. He found he didn't know the answer to that question.


	2. Chapter 2

Hot Commodity

By: Kibou32

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Summary: The fight against Naraku is over. They won and everyone is feeling good about themselves. By mistake of a compound wish made by Kouga, Kagome and Miroku, Inuyasha is turned into the ultimate being and now everyone wants him. But how can he in turn be free of such gift when those who want him don't seem to want HIM as himself but that of who he is now. What will Inuyasha do now when told that the only way for the gift to disappear is if he chooses someone else?.

A/N: Alternate take on what would happen if a miscontrued wish on the jewel makes Inuyasha the target of unwanted attention from both male and female alike. By the way, no squick: ie.: no Kaede + Inuyasha or Jaken + Inuyasha.

Warnings: You've been warned. There is to be a lot of angst. Lots of both Homosexual & Heterosexual connotations and talk of hard core yaoi scenes.

Part II: The Aftermath. 

_**Shippou**_

He knew it in his heart when Inuyasha woke up simply because like a kitsune he was somewhat bound to Inuyasha as a son was to his father. Even though Inuyasha wasn't his birth father, he was his adoptive father and that was all it mattered. And he knew that things would never be the same because his adoptive father received the most weird glances from all of those that were around him and even those who did not know him. The most curious glance of all had to be from Inuyasha's brother Sesshoumaru.

For the most part of his life – he knew because Kagome had told him once – Inuyasha had been unwanted by both sides of his world. Humans loathed him because he carried the demonic strength that came from his dog demon blood. Demons hated him and wanted him dead because he carried the heart and caring of all those who were humans and thought they were better than them. Those presumptuous humans who destroyed all that their god had created and wished them well whereas demons preserved and did not covet all that humans wanted. And now… things had changed because a wish made to the Shikon No Tama! Suddenly everyone wanted his father. His father who wasn't a hanyou anymore. Would things ever be the same?

_**Kagome**_

It was a weird feeling coursing through her veins the moment Inuyasha stepped out of Kaede's hut. It was as if one day there was the Inuyasha everyone knew about—the hanyou who was unloved by all who didn't know him well. The crude teenager that made her mad whenever they didn't reach an agreement. The brave young man who would die for his friend's safety even if it were at the cost of his own life. The frightened and shy little boy that didn't really want to let anyone know when he was weak so they wouldn't turn against him. And then—here he was. A man who was more than beautiful on the inside and the outside.

Then she began to notice all of the others stare up at him. He was wearing his usual fire-rat haori and red hakamas, but she could see that there were differences. He looked positively ravishing. And she could tell that the others thought so as well. Would she have to kick some ass to get his attention now?

His hair looked much more voluminous and wavy and long. Longer actually than it were before and then she gasped as she realized that his hair was as long as it used to be… he was actually at least five inches taller than he was before. In fact, it seemed that although his brother Sesshoumaru was the tallest guy around, he was actually taller than Kouga or Miroku thrown together.

_**Sesshoumaru**_

He could see that Inuyasha was uncomfortable. Others might have not noticed, but it was the truth. He was uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with the way others were looking at him, uncomfortable with the clothes he was wearing… they were too snug! He was uncomfortable with the changes that had happened too fast to his body, changes that, he knew had happened, but could not tell what they were. And most importantly there was a large long and fluffy tail trailing behind him. Becoming a full blooded inu – youkai had definitely made him look thoroughly delicious, but he was uncertain and confused as to what these changes meant for him. He could see that Inuyasha's main concern was to ascertain what things had changed since he was last awake.

He saw him limp over to the young priestess who had dispelled the jewel – although he was sure it was only him who noticed that Inuyasha was limping, perhaps he had some sort of injury that hadn't healed yet due to the rapid changes that occurred to his body. They all stared at him waiting to see what he would do now that he was standing almost in front of her.

He shifted to the side to look at the evolving scene in front of him wondering why had he stayed and not gone back to his duties as that was his plan before the new turn of events crept up on him. But one look at his brother's confused stance and he being uncomfortable in his old clothes, and he had – astoundingly – already made up his mind to be sure his brother was safe. When had he begun to care for his brother, was a mystery even for him.

He looked over and saw that the young priestess wearing indecent clothing was blushing looking up to his brother's face.

"Oi. What happened? Are you okay?" – and was rewarded by a timid smile from the girl that sat in front of his brother.

"Yeah. Inuyasha, are _you_ okay?" – he heard the question and wanted to be able to see what his brother would say in response to that.

"I'm okay, _I guess_." – he said in a clear voice and then mumbled out the rest afraid of the girl's answer should she hear. Or at least that's what Sesshoumaru thought it was why he had done so.

"How far do you remember Inuyasha?" – said the monk from the side where the wolf-demon stood.

"I remember finishing Naraku off, then Kagome getting the jewel and that is when I think I faded out? Maybe I was too tired…" – Sesshoumaru could see then that he was somewhat unaware of the changes in his body.

He saw the demon slayer grab something from that hideous yellow bag that sat between her and the young priestess. He realized it was a white towel and some bathing supplies.

"Go have a bath Inuyasha. I think we all know for a fact that you are uncomfortable in your fire rat haori and hakama."

"How the hell do you know that?!" – he heard his brother yell at her.

"I can see. Perhaps you have gone through a growth spurt and you are unable to fit in your clothes anymore." – but even as she finished talking, he could see she didn't want Inuyasha to find out the truth of the matter from her. Perhaps she still felt bitter due to the fact that her brother was dead.

"But what will I wear? I own nothing more than these clothes." – and then both he and his brother were surprised when the wolf-demon presented him with some furs.

"You can wear this Inuyasha." – he found himself feeling too annoyed at the demon to understand why he felt this way.

He looked over to see how the rest were fairing and remembered abruptly that he had sent Jaken for clothes. Clothes for Inuyasha. Clothes that should have been here already! He began to feel angry.

_**Sango**_

She had been wondering when on earth had Kouga ever given Inuyasha anything, besides insults. She came up with nothing.

She saw Inuyasha look at Kouga with a wary glare in his eyes as if he were trying to find out what could Kouga possibly gain from giving him clothes to wear. He looked like he might've accepted except someone stopped him. This someone was a sweating toad that went by the name of Jaken.

"Here." – he squawked and Inuyasha looked down at the toad with a surprised glance at him.

"Where did you get these?" – he queried in a soft spoken tone of voice that made Sango's heart race. That tone of voice gave him a beautiful look on his face.

"Sesshoumaru-sama gave me some coins to get these garments made for you. I am merely delivering what Sesshoumaru-sama had asked me to do so." – he responded with a haughty expression on his ugly toad face.

Sango found herself wondering why he was responding at all, if he really didn't like the thought of giving anything to Inuyasha. Then she stumbled. She realized that this was a mandate given by the Lord of the Western Lands himself. It didn't matter that Jaken didn't want to do this, he would do it or face the consequences.

She looked at Inuyasha and found him gathering the clothes and the bathing supplies in his hands. Then he nodded at Sesshoumaru in acknowledgement – or it could have been done as a non-verbal way to thank him – and left the clearing towards the lake at the other side of the village.

_**Shippou**_

He followed his adopted father making sure not to step onto his trailing tail. He knew that no one had attempted to explain things to him for fear of his reaction and whilst he could see the necessity of him not knowing when he could discover what was new with his body, he could also feel a tad bit angry at the fact that everyone had started to treat his father as if he were no more than a pup.

When he came back to himself, he found himself looking wonderfully shocked at his adopted father's nude back. It was clear that his tail _was_ attached to his back like he had seen real dogs have, and his hair _was_ longer than usual, but the most astounding thing of all were the lavender jagged marks that adorned his father's calves and wrists. He had three thick lavender jagged marks that hugged his torso and two thick but less than those three in his torso that hugged his hips in a way he could be sure directed towards his father's groin. He heard him gasp as he realized that there were some obvious changes in him. And none of these had nothing to do with a sudden growth spurt.

He saw him turn and found himself staring back at equally shocked golden eyes. He did not let his eyes lower towards his groin – he knew how shy his father was of his body – knowing that he might not appreciate it.

"What are you doing here Shippou?" – the query was done in that soft husky tone of voice he used when he turned to find Jaken staring up at him.

"I… I came to make sure you were alright." – although he was sure that Inuyasha had acknowledge him as his adopted son, they had not brought up the subject because both didn't like to show emotions and if they ever brought it up, he was sure both would be very embarrassed to discuss matters of the heart like that.

"Do you know why I look like this? Why do I have a tail as long as my height and why my eyes are not red??" – he asked again and at the end he even sounded a bit disconcerted.

"Apparently Kagome made a wish to the jewel." – he then thrust the large mirror he had been hiding behind his arms in front of him.

His fingers briefly touched that of his adopted father's and he was surprised at how smooth were his hands. He saw him examine his features with an assessing eye and was shocked again when he said…

"She wished I were a full blooded inu-youkai?"

He nodded in response empathetically.

"Why in the seven hells would she wish that?! I thought she liked me as a hanyou. I thought… I thought she had accepted me as I were." – and his heart felt torn at how his father's voice sounded so sad and depressed.

Then he saw his father put the mirror down gently and stepped into the lake to bath. He sat at the bank of the lake awaiting patiently for his father to stop bathing. He handed him the soap when he asked for it and tried to help him wash his long hair. He felt so happy inside of him when his father didn't reject his help. It meant that he trusted him and accepted him. When his father emerged from the bath looking squeaky clean, he was surprised when he took the towel from his hands and began to slowly dry himself up. However, he started when he heard him say…

"Go ahead and bathe yourself Shippou. I know you also feel a bit agitated by this new turn of events." – and when he looked up at him with confusion flaring in his eyes he was surprised yet again when he heard him go on: "I will not leave without you. I will await for you until you finish your bath. Go. I'll be here."

And so he stripped out of his clothes and began to bath.


	3. Chapter 3

Hot Commodity

By: Kibou32

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Summary: The fight against Naraku is over. They won and everyone is feeling good about themselves. By mistake of a compound wish made by Kouga, Kagome and Miroku, Inuyasha is turned into the ultimate being and now everyone wants him. But how can he in turn be free of such gift when those who want him don't seem to want HIM as himself but that of who he is now. What will Inuyasha do now when told that the only way for the gift to disappear is if he chooses someone else?.

A/N: Alternate take on what would happen if a miscontrued wish on the jewel makes Inuyasha the target of unwanted attention from both male and female alike. By the way, no squick: ie.: no Kaede + Inuyasha or Jaken + Inuyasha.

Warnings: You've been warned. There is to be a lot of angst. Lots of both Homosexual & Heterosexual connotations and talk of hard core yaoi scenes.

Part III: What Am I Going To Do Now? 

_**Kagome**_

She hadn't noticed it up until Miroku said it. Inuyasha no longer carried the prayer beads on his neck. She hadn't taken them off so the only option left was Kaede. But when she asked her, she said that she had thought that Kagome finally trusted Inuyasha to take them off, she was floored. It was obvious that the person who had done it had to trust Inuyasha completely. Otherwise the prayer beads could have seriously injured him. So who had taken them off from him?

It wasn't Miroku because he had been the one to ask about it and it hadn't been Sango because she had no holy power to speak of. Then who was it?

It came as a shock when Kouga said it might've been Midoriko as part of the wish as it were that he were strong enough and if they were right in their assumptions that if a compound wish was what made Inuyasha change, then it could also be true that Inuyasha's new strength could have easily dissolved the spell that held the beads together.

This came back to her whilst they were waiting for Inuyasha to return from his bath. What was she going to do now when there was nothing for her to be sure if she _could _go back to her time and back again?

As she pondered this, she felt it deep in her core the impressive power of Inuyasha's youki.

_**Shippou**_

He had finished bathing and dried himself with the towel Inuyasha had been using from before. He sat in complete silence whilst he saw his father combing his hair in slow even strokes. When he was noticed he saw Inuyasha motioning him to come closer. So he did and was pleasantly surprised when he felt Inuyasha begin to brush his hair.

Getting the tangles out were a pain, but after awhile he felt safe as if just by being with him he was being enshrouded in a peaceful cocoon. Who knew his father had such gentle fingers? He then dressed back on his clothes, helped his father gather their supplies and watched him neatly fold his haori and hakama with care. He wondered if perhaps he would let him use it when he were older.

They walked back to the village in silence. Once they were almost near their friends, Inuyasha turned to him and asked him…

"Shippou. I know we have never spoken of this before, but I need to know. If things don't go well, will you come with me? Or will you stay with the others here at Kaede's village?"

"I will go with you wherever you wish us to go!" – he emphasized this by standing tall.

"Very well. I am glad. I don't think I would've wanted to leave you behind." – and Shippou granted him a wide grin that was responded with a small smile in return.

_**Rin**_

She was glad that her Lord was happy. Because even though they weren't doing anything but standing in the outskirts of the village where she knew her lord's brother lived, she knew he was happy.

Well… he wasn't really happy per se, more like content. She thought she could discern that if her lord were to be truly happy, he would have already snapped the young priestess's neck in half and taken his brother out of the village towards his home completely disregarding his brother's wishes and what all others around them thought.

She saw how much different Inuyasha-san was when he came back striding purposefully from the lake. He looked much more self-assured now that he weren't dressed in the red clothes he usually wore. In fact, though it had a different design than that of her lord's, it gave him an air of proud royalty.

_**Kaede**_

She had been walking towards them and noticed how tense they were all. Once Inuyasha came up to them, she watched with pride in her heart knowing how much it had cost him to grow up personality – wise. She just hoped that the physical changes wouldn't override any of his decisions. She knew without a doubt that things were about to get 'heavy' as Kagome called it and she didn't doubt that Kagome was going to get away unscathed.

"What happened to the jewel Kagome?" – she heard him ask her sister's reincarnation and watched as the young – and untrained – priestess fidgeted. Could she not see that Inuyasha already had an idea as to what had happened to it and just wanted to make her flinch?

"Well, I… I… I purified the jewel." – she said at last though no one missed the trembling in her voice.

"Really? And how did you purify it? 'Cause wasn't it told to us that the only way to purify it was to make a self-less wish?" – his voice inflicted a long lasting damage in the poor girl's psyche leaving her speechless for the moment.

"Inuyasha." – she said.

"Yes Kaede-baba?" – she smiled inwardly but on the outside she didn't let it show on her face how the insult didn't face her at all.

"Kagome along with Miroku and Wolf Prince Kouga made a wish based on love, family and power."

"Did they really?"

"Yes. They did. Now I do not know what or who was the recipient of the wish, but I do know that they did not mean it as such."

"Do I look like an idiot?" – he asked everyone sitting around the campfire on the outskirts of the village.

Everyone shook their heads. Everyone except for the demon lord and his entourage.

"I am not stupid enough to believe that the wish was selfish as I haven't turned into a insane bloodthirsty demon. What I am concerned about is the effects of this wish into me!"

Kaede smirked. She could see – as others had already noticed – that Inuyasha had spent the time at the lake not only taking a bath but also thinking of the possible ramifications of the wish made.

"This wish may have been based on love, family and power. However, has anyone noticed the fact that I was never told of the nature of this wish? I wasn't asked what I wanted. It was all decided without my knowledge and so… now that I wish to know what everyone has decided… why was this wish made, no one will answer me. I am within my rights to know the details and the reasoning behind this wish. And yet here I am… and no one around me – not even my so called friends or the girl who supposedly loves me is willing to tell me the truth!"

"Inuyasha… would you please relax?" – Kagome asked.

"You wish for me to relax? What the hell is wrong with you?!" – he looked to be angry but even that wasn't the real emotion he wished to convey to anyone else, Kaede could see.

"Uh… what?" – she said looking puzzled.

_**Ayame**_

She wasn't surprised to see her looking like him acting this way was normal. This was probably – to her - how he had acted for the four to five years they had been together hunting for Naraku and looking for the shards. Nevertheless, she could see that this was the end of any sort of relationship between them. She was even certain that everyone around the clearing knew of it.

She shook her head and turned away.

"Kagome-sama…" – she heard the monk begin.

"What?!" – she exclaimed.

"Really Kagome!" – even the slayer was convinced the sorry excuse for a priestess with apparently no morals and no decency was in the wrong. It seemed that she was still upset with the fact that at one point Kouga had chosen _her_ instead of herself.

_**Sesshoumaru**_

He sneered at her prepared to tell her exactly where she went wrong when he was surprised to see his brother stand up to confront her.

"I can tell. I can tell now that you are useless. You fulfilled your _duty_. So go now. Leave and don't ever come back. I never want to see your pretty useless face ever again. Go thru the well and never come back." – he saw his brother snarl quietly at her and watched with a smug smirk as she turned angry at first and he could see that she wanted to make plunder into the ground and realize as everyone else in their camp that it was impossible as his brother no longer carried them.

"Fine!" – and then she turned away picking up that hideous yellow bag and disappeared into the woods that led towards the bone eater's well.

She behaved such like a foolish child, he was truly glad his sibling had decided to be sensible and send her away before she made real damage.


	4. Chapter 4

Hot Commodity

By: Kibou32

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Summary: The fight against Naraku is over. They won and everyone is feeling good about themselves. By mistake of a compound wish made by Kouga, Kagome and Miroku, Inuyasha is turned into the ultimate being and now everyone wants him. But how can he in turn be free of such gift when those who want him don't seem to want HIM as himself but that of who he is now. What will Inuyasha do now when told that the only way for the gift to disappear is if he chooses someone else?.

A/N: Alternate take on what would happen if a miscontrued wish on the jewel makes Inuyasha the target of unwanted attention from both male and female alike. By the way, no squick: ie.: no Kaede + Inuyasha or Jaken + Inuyasha.

Warnings: You've been warned. There is to be a lot of angst. Lots of both Homosexual & Heterosexual connotations and talk of hard core yaoi scenes.

**Part IV: The journey.**

_**Kouga**_

"So what do we do now?" – he asked knowing he was virtually asking what everyone wanted to know in their heads.

"I heard there was a tree that knew of everything and anything. He's really old and knows much of everything there is to know about demons. All demons. He could probably answer your questions Inuyasha-san." – he heard Ayame suggest and he could see that she had a point.

"His name is Bokuseno." – he heard the Tai-Youkai say with certainty.

"You know of him?" – Inuyasha's soft voice led to believe that he was getting excited about the prospect of meeting this tree demon.

"Yes. I know of him. He was a good friend and ally to our father Inuyasha. If we go to him, he'll try to answer all of your questions. He is very knowledgeable. However even the wisest of men may not know all of the answers of the world." – he scowled inwardly at that. What was he speaking of? Could he just say if he would or would not speak to the white haired beauty in front of them?

"Hn. I understand. I was hoping you'd know of him as I know that knowledge never comes free. It is still daylight, we might as well start now. We might be able to cover many ri today if we go fast." – Kouga nodded but then looked from over the corner of his eye towards the two adult humans and cocked his head to the side wondering what would happen to them.

"I agree. We should get going. Is Kirara fit to take us Sango?" – he heard the monk say.

"I don't think you two should go." – Ayame said looking askance. He nodded.

"I will not let Inuyasha go alone. I am his friend. So is Sango. We will go with him whether he wants us to or not." – he heard the monk state firmly.

He watched incredulous as Inuyasha walked over to them and said…

"I am sorry. I can't wait. I know you both are tired. You are exhausted. It has been a long day so far and I know that you couldn't even try to keep up. Not even Kirara can run that fast and she's still tired from the battle. You're bone-weary and I wish that you could come with us –with me but please… stay at the village. Rest. I'll come back." – he could tell that Inuyasha's speech had gotten through to them and knew without a doubt that Inuyasha's eyes oozed the 'trust me' line over and over again. He knew that they would not deny him that. So they sighed and nodded.

"In that case… I will go tomorrow and visit my village. You are right and I still have to fix my Hiraikotsu." – she went over to him and hugged him. He was surprised to see that whilst she hugged him, he did not hug back.

"I will also set out tomorrow. I have to go see Mushin and tell him that I have not been consumed by my kazaana. We will be waiting for you to come back." – and Kouga saw him extend his hand to his silver hair beauty and was shocked to the core when the puppy accepted it and shook his hand as well!

_**Shippou**_

Inuyasha had been correct. By the time it was nightfall, they were at least one third of the way. They had never met this tree, but as he kept on talking with Rin; he could tell that Rin had met this tree-demon and was okay with it. And if she was okay, then so were he to be okay once they met him.

It was as the darkness approached them that he saw what Kouga and Ayame had failed to notice, his father was limping slightly from his left leg.

"Inuyasha." – he heard the Tai-Youkai state.

"I agree. We should stop here for the night." – he said…

"I'll go fetch some water from the springs." – he heard Ayame say. He still didn't understand why she hadn't gone back to wherever she came from, but as long as she helped out it was okay.

"I'll go hunting." – he heard Kouga say and when they left it was only them four. Rin had settled down to build a fire whilst Jaken… it was then he noticed that the toad was gone.

"I Can see you are limping. What is the matter?" – he heard Sesshoumaru ask and he felt his eyes grow wide. Would his father deny it or would he say something else?

He saw his adopted father look down at his left leg and said…

"It has been bothering me for awhile. Is it because I'm not wearing shoes?" – and the way he tilted his head a bit had Shippou smiling a bit. In that moment he could see that he looked so endearing that even the cold Sesshoumaru would have any difficulty from getting ensnared into it.

_**Sesshoumaru**_

He could feel himself flush inwardly at the _cute _expression on his half-sibling's face. He shook himself internally to stop himself from looking like an idiot and said…

"I do not think that that is the reason for your limp. Sit down on that rock." – he watched as his lithe sibling sat down and he knelt in front of him.

He immediately began to feel uncomfortable. Whatever the scent Inuyasha emitted meant, it made him feel lightheaded. He motioned his sibling to position his left calf on his knee so he could sense what could be wrong with him that made him limp. The sight of that white hairless leg when Inuyasha's hakama was pulled up from where it gathered loose had him a bit woozy and he could have sworn that he could've collapsed if it hadn't been for his pride.

He gently touched the calf and noticed three thin lavender jagged lines hugging his leg just as the three lavender marks did on his wrists. He heard him shudder a bit and this made him wonder why were his marks so soft and sensitive. His two magenta stripes were not soft and moreover they were not sensitive to the touch. He decided to muse this later when he used his thumb to gauge how thick his bone were and found to his relief that there was nothing wrong with his leg. He then raised the foot to his face and found the reason for his limp.

His brother did not limp because he had a thorn on his foot or because of a previous injury before the wish was made. It was because he had the mark of a western star clouded over by the sun on one side and the moon on the other side. He touched the mark and noticed instantly how much his brother quivered. Was this the reason Inuyasha limped but didn't really felt all that different because it was not an injury? An injury would hurt and make the young youkai wince in pain. A birthmark – here he paused for a moment in his inner thoughts – was it like a birthmark? If it were could he have had this way before and since no one bothered to look at a foot, he couldn't have known about it.

"So? What is it?" – he heard his brother ask him.

Instead of answering, he said: "Rin. Bring forth your ink and parchments."

"Hai!" – so she immediately set out to do that.

When she came forth bringing the supplies, he intended to draw the picture on his brother's foot but found that whilst his calligraphy was impressively good, his drawing skills were down to nothing.

"What are you doing?" – he heard him ask again.

"There is a mark here that I have to reproduce. Once we get to Bokuseno, he might be able to tell you what does it mean and why is it so sensitive."

"I see. I had not bothered to check out anything else about the marks… but why on the sole of my left foot? Is there another mark on the sole of my right foot?"

He frowned. He let the left foot go and grabbed the other one to see and sure enough there was a mark. But it wasn't a star, it was a full moon. He wondered why it was so… did that mean anything?

"There is another mark here." – he said to avoid being asked about it.

"Shippou!" – he heard his brother say in a loud voice.

"Yeah?" – he looked over in front of him and saw how the kitsune had bounded over to them and landed in Inuyasha's lap.

"Will you draw both of the marks on the soles of my feet?" – he queried and Sesshoumaru was instantly left feeling bereft.

And a little annoyed. At the end when Kouga came back with a deer hung over his shoulder, Shippou had already finished drawing the marks and was coloring them with some sort of colored wax. Upstaged by a young kitsune pup! How disgraceful!

_**Ayame**_

When night came, she made her own bed near the shade of a big tree and she watched in amusement at Kouga who was sitting on his hind legs because apparently he slept in his full youkai form. She turned over and saw both the young ones sleeping together.

And then she looked at Inuyasha and felt her heart thump faster. He was asleep on top of a sturdy branch of the tree that split him from both Kouga and Sesshoumaru. He looked pensive even in his sleep and she wondered what might've happened whilst she were picking up water and Kouga were hunting for a meal.

_**Rin**_

When she awoke the next day, she knew that she had overslept as she could feel the dragon moving steadily thru the wind. He wasn't walking, he was flying and he only did that when their master was in an extreme hurry. She opened her eyes and stared at Shippou's red hair. She then looked behind herself and saw how she was being upheld by Inuyasha-san's strong arms.

"You're awake." – he stated but she heard it as a question.

"I'm a bit hungry Inuyasha-san, is there anything to eat?" – she asked and felt him nod. He made a grab for something beside him and she then could tell how long she had slept.

It was at least three hours past noon. No wonder she was hungry!

She ate and contemplated the idea of him sitting on top of Ah-Un. What did it mean? Were it due to those marks that Shippou had drawn? Was that the reason they weren't walking? She hoped that those marks were only marks and not something that could cause Inuyasha-san pain.


End file.
